Immediately after the establishment of Japan's new cabinet, it began a frenzied arms expansion. "The domain name of this site is the full spelling, please remember the domain name of this site!" And the tenacious Japanese people, although life is becoming more and more difficult, they still choose to endure. Waiting for the next time the warriors of the Great Japanese Empire will win for them, and then their lives will be better.

Japan's army and navy have also come up with a plan to expand their forces. The Army plans to rebuild 23 divisions by the end of the year, with troops selected from the redeemed veterans and the 10 provisional divisions on the mainland. The new Minister of War, Tonosuke Takashima, also convened the generals who participated in the Sino-Japanese War to discuss the reasons for Japan's defeat this time. Almost all Japanese generals mentioned that the firepower of the squadron was too strong, and the number of artillery equipped with each division of the squadron was more than twice that of each Japanese division, and the performance of the artillery was much more advanced. In addition, the squadron has also equipped heavy machine guns and other weapons to the platoon level, and they believe that Japan should also equip heavy machine guns to the squad level, so that in the future war, when facing the squadron, they will not suffer.

However, after discussions, the War Department listened to some of their opinions, such as increasing the number of artillery in each division and regiment, ordering it from outside or producing it itself, and striving to increase the number of artillery in each division and regiment to more than 70 percent of the squadron. However, heavy machine guns are only allowed to be equipped to the squadron level, and although the heavy machine guns are fierce, they consume a lot of ammunition. And the accuracy is not very good. The giants of the Japanese army believed that twenty well-trained Japanese soldiers were fully worthy of a heavy machine gun, and there was no need to equip too many of these weapons that consumed too much ammunition.

In addition, the expansion of the army by 23 divisions is only the first step. After all, the strength of the Chinese Army has now increased to more than one million, and if the Japanese Army wants to defeat the Chinese Army, it will definitely not be enough to rely on the strength of 23 divisions alone. However, due to the influence of military spending, they could only temporarily limit the number of land forces to twenty-three divisions.

Compared to the Japanese Army, the Japanese Navy has a much larger stride. The new three commanders of the Japanese Navy were Gonbei Yamamoto, Minister of the Navy, Prince Arisugawanomiya Yoshihito, Minister of Military Orders, and Rear Admiral Heihachiro Togo, Commander of the Combined Fleet. These three people all belong to the young and strong faction in the Japanese Navy. Among them, the eldest Togo Heihachiro is only 47 years old, Yamamoto Gonbei is also 4 years old, and Prince Arisugawa Palace Weihito is only 4 years old. Under their leadership, the Japanese navy, after receiving sufficient military spending, once again began to grow explosively.

The Japanese Navy held that the reason why the Combined Fleet lost to the Chinese Navy this time was not because of the Japanese Navy's officers and men, but because the strength of the Japanese Combined Fleet's warships was too different from that of the Chinese Navy. If they can have capital ships of the same class as the Chinese Navy, they may not lose this war. The current Japanese Navy, except for a few old patrol boats, no longer has a single warship. In addition, most of the shipyards were destroyed by the Chinese navy, and Japan's shipbuilding capacity was reduced by more than 80 percent. Although they have urgently ordered a batch of shipbuilding equipment from Britain and the United States, they will be able to start building their own warships only next year at the earliest.

As early as last year, before the end of the First Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese Navy had already ordered two battleships from Britain, which were an improved version of the British "Sovereign-class" battleships, which were named the "Fuji" class by Japan, the first ship "Fuji" had already started construction in July last year, and the second ship "Yashima" had started construction in February last year, and it was expected to be completed early next year. The Fuji-class battleship has a standard displacement of 12,500 tons, a total length of 44 meters, a width of 22 meters, a draft of meters, a maximum speed of knots, a cruising range of 0 knots / 7,000 nautical miles, and a crew of 726 people. It is armed with two twin 05-mm naval guns, 0 52-mm single-mounted guns, 24 47-mm single-mounted guns, 450-mm over-the-water torpedo tubes, and four 450-mm underwater torpedo tubes. The comprehensive combat power of the "Fuji" class is already comparable to that of the "Sichuan-class" battleships of the Chinese Navy, but the firepower is slightly inferior, but slightly stronger than the "Plateau-class" battleships of the Chinese Navy.

This time, the two additional battleships that Japan added to Britain were modified from the "Majesty-class" battleships that the British Navy was currently building, and were named "Shikishima-class" battleships by Japan, and the first ship, "Shikishima", and the second ship, "Asahi", will be built in Britain and will be completed in two years. In addition, the Japanese side also purchased drawings to prepare for the construction of the third ship "Hatsuse" and the fourth ship "Mikasa" of the "Shikishima-class" battleships in the country. The battleship "Shikishima-class" has a displacement of 450 tons, a total length of 5 meters, a total width of 2 meters, a draft of meters, a maximum speed knot, and a member. It is armed with two twin 05-mm naval guns, four 52-mm single-mounted guns, 20 single-mounted 76-mm guns, and two 47-mm single-mounted guns with 450-mm over-water torpedo tubes and four 450-mm underwater torpedo tubes. The main gun firepower of the "Shikishima-class" is slightly inferior to that of China's "Sichuan-class" battleships, but the secondary gun firepower is even more powerful, and its comprehensive combat power is no longer inferior to that of China's "Sichuan-class" battleships. If all four battleships planned by Japan were to enter service, it would be a very great pressure on the Chinese Navy.

In addition, Japan has also ordered two battleships from the United States, which will be named the "Ryuchamp-class" based on the "Indiana-class" battleships currently being built by the US Navy, and the construction of the first ship, the "Ryuchampa," and the second ship, the "Hizen," will begin within this year and are expected to be completed in two years. The "Longchamp-class" battleship has a displacement of 0225 tons, a total length of 069 meters, a total width of 2 meters, a draft of 2 meters, and a maximum speed of 5 knots. It is armed with two twin 05-mm naval guns, four 20-mm naval guns, four 52-mm single-mounted guns, two 76-mm single-mounted guns, 20 47-mm single-mounted guns, and four 450-mm underwater torpedo tubes. Although the "Longxiang-class" battleships have strong firepower, they are slower in speed and slightly inferior in basic combat power to the "Sichuan-class" battleships of the Chinese Navy. However, if all eight battleships of the Japanese Navy were put into service, it would have an overwhelming advantage over the four battleships of the Chinese Navy.

In addition, the Japanese Navy also ordered two armored cruisers from Britain, the United States and France, this type of armored cruiser, with a displacement of about 10,000 tons, a speed of about 25 knots, and two 20 mm twin naval guns as the main guns, the purpose of which is to suppress the heavy cruisers of the Chinese Navy.

When Japan's naval shipbuilding plan was discovered by the CIA, it caused a huge shock in China's government and opposition, and both the military, the cabinet, and even the people demanded that the government launch a corresponding shipbuilding plan to maintain its superiority over the Japanese navy, so that it could be invincible in future wars.

It was under these circumstances that Wang Yuze appeared at the Naval Battleship Design Institute in Dagu, Tianjin, on the 5th of July. The top brass of the Admiralty were all in accompaniment, knowing that this time would decide the Navy's shipbuilding plans for the next few years.

At the Battleship Design Institute, this time the chief designer of the capital ship, the German engineer Barcles? Smit introduced Wang Yuze to the new class of battleships he had designed. This battleship has a standard displacement of 10,000 tons, a full load displacement of 4500 tons, a length of 2 meters, a width of 2 meters, a draft of meters, a maximum speed of 9 knots, and a crew of 60 people. The artillery was three twin 05-mm naval guns, two 55-mm single-mounted guns, 0 single-mm single-mounted guns, and 0 7-mm rapid-fire guns. Two 475-mm torpedo tubes. The armor was 52 mm for the side strap, 6 mm for the deck, 20 mm for the turret.

This is Barcles? For two years, Smit took his Chinese assistants to design warships. The performance of this battleship is already known to the senior management of the Admiralty, and they are very satisfied with it. However, they found out in Barclays? After Smit's introduction, Wang Yuze did not have a smile on his face. Could it be that Wang Yuze is still not satisfied with such a powerful battleship?

"Your Excellency, this is a battleship designed by me, do you have any opinions?" Barclays? Smit was a little dissatisfied. This is his hard work for two years! Without a doubt, this is one of the most powerful warships in the world.

"Your Excellency, I have to admit that this ship is indeed very powerful. However, this is not the battleship I wanted. The current battleships are being updated too quickly, and they may have been surpassed by the battleships behind them before the newly built battleships were put into service. Therefore, I hope that our Navy will be equipped with a battleship that is more than five years ahead of the current level! Wang Yuze said.

Barclays? Smit frowned, he did not deny that Wang Yuze's point of view was very correct, but the battleships of the navy were originally money-burning things, and no one dared to guarantee how long the battleships under construction on the slipway would become obsolete.

"So, Your Excellency, what do you think of a battleship?" Barclays? Smit asked. There is no doubt that if his battleship wants to start construction and service, it will require Wang Yuze's nod. Therefore, he needs to understand Wang Yuze's specific requirements.

"Your Excellency, I would like you to lead our engineers in designing for us a battleship with no secondary guns, a consistent large-caliber main gun and high speed, and thick armor to dominate future naval battles. I would like to put forward a few specific requirements, the armament is 5 twin 05 mm naval guns, 0 mm single guns and 0 7 mm rapid-fire guns. The speed is more than 2 knots. The armor was made of the latest Krupp armor steel, the armor of the turret and conning tower was about 00 mm, the armor of the deck was 6 mm, and the broadside belt was 20 mm. Wang Yuze solemnly put forward his request.

PS: The third update is here! Tomorrow's four watches, there will be an update in the early morning. Ask for a subscription, ask for a monthly pass! (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to register as a member to recommend this work, your support is my biggest motivation. )